Worst Case Scenario
by Kadi219
Summary: [Raydor/Flynn] What happens in a relationship when those in your life aren't as supportive as you would expect them to be? How does it survive. When faced with the worst case scenario, can they be friends again? Or is there another way to move forward together.
1. Chapter 1

**The Worst Case Scenario**

 **By Kadi**

 **Rated K+**

 **Disclaimer:** It isn't my sandbox. I just come here to play...

 **A/N:** For the girls... they know who they are.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The day was entirely too cheerful; much too bright for Sharon's liking, although that was a feeling that she had been struggling with for a while now. Had it not been for her own curiosity and sense of duty she would have stayed in her office, buried beneath a pile of reports while she distracted herself from the goings on outside those walls.

The invitation for coffee was unexpected when it came, but Sharon decided that Patrice was reaching out, trying to familiarize herself with all of the people in Lieutenant Provenza's life. They were living together, after all, and for all intents and purposes the relationship seemed permanent. It made sense that the woman would begin connecting to those people that he felt were important. Sharon supposed that as women who dealt with him on a daily basis, she was the natural place to start.

She only wished that Patrice had not chosen a trendy, outdoor café downtown for the meeting. Sharon plastered a smile upon her face, however, and cradled her cup in her hands as she sat across from the other woman.

"When the Lieutenant finds out about this he is going to be beside himself," she began, opening with a mild bit of humor.

Patrice chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure he will. Don't worry. I can handle Louie." Her eyes sparkled, and as she took a sip of her coffee she studied the other woman. The smile didn't reach her eyes. She seemed pensive. She was not as Patrice remembered from previous encounters, but she supposed there was a reason or that. Louie had been ranting for weeks about his partner and the Captain. He said that their little romance had finally gone sour. Flynn had screwed up. Now everything at work was awkward and tense; they were all paying for the idiot's mistake.

What his partner would not say was what exactly had happened. Louie was a little upset at that. How could he help him _fix it_ if he didn't know what he had done? Whatever had gone on, Flynn was completely mum about the whole thing.

Patrice wasn't one to meddle unnecessarily, but the way that he talked about them before made it sound like they were finally doing something _right_. They were so happy and love-struck that it was sickening. He just wanted to shake them half the time to get rid of the dopey smiles. Then all of a sudden, without even a hint of warning, it was over.

So what the heck had happened?

As a woman Patrice knew that the best way to get any information was to go to the source. She _hoped_ that she could get the other woman to open up. It wasn't as if they were friends, but they were close in age and now moving in the same circle, more or less. It might help to talk to someone who was close to the situation without actually being inside of it.

If nothing else it would shut Louie up on the subject. Maybe he could fix it. She didn't really know, but it was worth a try. After all, what could it hurt?

Sharon hummed thoughtfully. "You might be among the few who can." She leaned back in her chair and studied the cup in front of her. "I was surprised to hear from you," she admitted.

"Yes, I know." Patrice smiled knowingly at her. "I just thought… as two women who have to deal with the same man on a regular basis, maybe it would be a good idea to… join forces," she said with a laugh. "In a manner of speaking."

"Oh." Sharon felt the urge to smile. The corners of her mouth twitched with it. "Yes, he is definitely not going to like this." Her head tilted while she thought about it. "Can I tell him?"

Patrice laughed. That was better, the smile at least looked genuine. "Go right ahead. I know he can be a handful. It's just part of his charm."

Sharon snorted quietly and lifted a napkin to her mouth. "Charm. Hm." She shook her head. "That's not a word that I would have used."

"No, I don't guess that you would." Patrice thought about it. "Well, what else can we do? We have these men in our lives and as frustrating as they can be, we can't help but love them, right?" The comment was carefully placed, and although the other woman was quick to school her features, Patrice saw the pain that flashed briefly across her face. "I'm sorry," she said, "did I say something wrong?"

"No." Sharon looked down. Her coffee cup was suddenly the most interesting object nearby. "Not at all." She forced a smile. "I think I understand now." Patrice was looking for an ally. The two of them pitted against the dynamic that was Flynn and Provenza. Once upon a time she might have taken her up on it. "I'm sorry, I guess the news was a little slow to make the rounds. Andy and I are not… we're…" She had no words for what they were. Sharon looked up and shrugged. "Just friends," she finished quietly, if a bit lamely. After all, that is what they said they would do if things did not work out between them. Although she wasn't entirely sure that word really applied either. At least, not any more.

"I see." Patrice frowned. She smiled sadly, although she had already known, and continued gently, "I didn't realize. I guess that would explain why Louie has been so frustrated with Andy lately. The word _idiot_ has left his mouth more times than I can keep count. Men can be difficult creatures."

"It's not his fault." Sharon was quick to say. Her gaze drifted away, growing sad. "I am sure that he is willing to take the blame, that's just the way that Andy is. I'm afraid that the fault was mine." She shrugged. "He did all that he could. I'm just not…" Sharon wasn't even sure which words applied. "It was complicated," she decided, and shrugged again for lack of any thing better to say or do.

"I'm sorry," Patrice said, and meant it. She leaned forward and placed her cup back on the table. She kept her hands wrapped around it and gazed at the other woman until she lifted her eyes. "It must be difficult?"

"It is what it is." Sharon looked down again. "That's not what we're here to talk about," she said, trying to divert the conversation. "I'm sure that we can think of far more interesting topics."

"Yes, I imagine that we could. But something tells me that you haven't exactly talked about it at all." Her brow arched. There was a knowing gleam in her eyes. She knew Sharon's type well, independent, strong, but wearing the scars of past romantic failings. Patrice was aware that she was divorced, recently despite a long separation. Louie didn't talk very kindly about the ex-husband. Patrice didn't have all of the details, or really _any_ of the details. She knew the type though, the charmer, a user. He had gotten what he wanted from her and then he tossed her away. "You don't know me," Patrice said, "but I have a good ear. I'd be willing to listen, and with the advantage of not really being part of the situation."

"I couldn't do that." Sharon shook her head. The idea was tempting. She looked away again. "You are very kind, but I am sure that the situation will work itself out. It is just going to take some time."

"I might believe that if you were looking at me when you said it." Patrice arched a brow at her. She drew her hands away from her cup and folded them together. "Although from the look of you, I'm not entirely sure time is what you need."

It was surprise that made her look up. Sharon wished that she hadn't. The quiet understanding, the calm knowing in the other woman's gaze made her ache to speak all of the things she had been holding back. Who was she going to talk to? She had friends, yes, but none who really had a good grasp of the direction her life had taken the last few years. Sharon drew a thin breath and let it out slowly. "I'm not sure that I even know where to start," she said quietly.

"Usually the beginning is a good place." Patrice shrugged. She made a show of looking at her watch. "Well, wouldn't you know it, I have all day." She smiled warmly. "Go ahead. I can keep up."

Sharon felt herself smiling. Not for the first time she thought that she could really like this woman. The Lieutenant was lucky to have found her. It seemed that maybe he had finally met his match, and then some. Sharon took a deeper breath and straightened in her seat. "It was me," she said. "I am just determined to continue making the same mistakes that I made in my marriage. I could blame Jack for everything that went wrong between us, but the truth is that it takes two people to break a marriage apart. Yes, his addictions were problematic, and yes he left, but I made my own share of missteps over the years." Sharon shook her head, laughed a bit ruefully, "The most prominent of which was paying attention to everything but him. My children and my job were my focus back then, and it seems they still are. I took for granted that he would be there. I did that to Andy too."

Her heart ached for the pain in the other woman's words. It was hard for her to admit, Patrice knew. "I thought that you're children were grown?" She asked softly. "Rusty is the youngest, yes? He's in college now? I know it's harder when they're younger."

"Yes, he is." Sharon returned her gaze and tried to find the words to explain the challenges that came with parenting Rusty. "He wasn't comfortable with the idea of our dating," she said. "Rusty has been through a lot in his life. I understood his concerns. I hoped that they would lessen over time. They didn't. It was hard on Andy. He has been nothing but kind to both of us, and to deal with that level of mistrust... I can't really blame him. It was different when Rusty was just his Captain's son, the kid who would hang around the Murder Room and ask for advice. I think it surprised him, the uncertainty we faced with Rusty. It wasn't as if our spending time together was new. We were very good friends before we ever made the decision to become more than that, our families had already mingled a few times…" Sharon gestured between them, suddenly struggling to understand it too. "Once we began dating, it was as if Rusty didn't know him at all. He acted as if I was bringing a stranger into our home. I could have done more, I guess." She sighed and allowed her shoulders to slump. "I just didn't want to push him. Instead I pushed Andy away."

She looked down, and if Patrice wasn't mistaken, those were tears in her eyes. She reached across the table and touched her hand, briefly, lightly. "What happened?" She asked gently. "A man who loves you isn't going to give up that easily," she said, wanting to offer a measure of comfort. Perhaps it wasn't working _before_ the issue with her son.

"Oh," Sharon gave a watery chuckle. She fought back the sting of tears in her eyes. "You don't know Andy Flynn." She looked heavenward and drew a breath, hoping that the tears wouldn't fall. "He said he wasn't going to ask me to choose. He knew that Rusty would come first, and should. Our kids were always going to come first for us, and that was how it should be. He wanted me to be happy. He didn't want to be the reason that I was hurting, and if Rusty was struggling, if our being together was hurting _him_ , then that would hurt _me_. Since he promised he would never hurt me, if he could help it, he was going to take a step back and we'd be friends. Very good friends," she finished, whispering the last and looking away again. It simply hurt too much, the idea of being without him.

"Sharon." Patrice reached out and touched her hand again. This time she held it. "I am sorry," she whispered. "Louie was wrong. He doesn't sound like an idiot at all. Sounds like the right kind of guy to me." She gave her hand a squeeze when she felt it tremble.

"I suppose that makes me the fool for allowing him to get away," she whispered. Sharon drew her hand back and leaned back in her seat. She folded her hands in her lap and looked down. "It really is rather unfortunate. I suppose the awkwardness is the worst part. We are completely out of sync now, but I know that he's trying. It just isn't the same. He can't even look at me. I think…" She stopped talking when her voice hitched. Sharon took a moment to compose herself before looking up again and continuing. "I thought that I would be able to handle this situation, I thought we both would. I just didn't imagine that a failed romance at this point in my life would…"

"Hurt?" Patrice shrugged. "It's always going to hurt when the heart gets bruised. I think you're being a little hard on yourself, though." She lifted her coffee cup again and took a sip. "You roll the dice, they fall where they may," she told her. "That doesn't mean that you can't roll them again. You just have to ask yourself… does it hurt this much because you were wrong and your pride got bruised, or does it hurt because you love this man?"

"Oh," she breathed. "No. That's the problem. I didn't think that I would love him _this_ much. I thought that I was done. I thought…" Sharon looked away again. Her eyes closed. "I know that it sounds foolish, but when you get married you expect it to last forever. I loved Jack, to distraction. In many ways I still do. That's why with Andy I knew that I cared about him, very much, and the time that we spent together was wonderful. The idea of moving into a romantic relationship was appealing. He was—is," she corrected, "an attractive man. He makes me laugh, and when we were together it was just… well, it was fun." Sharon exhaled softly. "We're more alike than many people can usually believe. The idea of being with someone that I like, that I could talk to about almost anything, it was… it was what I imagined being in a relationship at this late stage in my life would be like. I never imagined that I would fall in love again."

"You did." Patrice understood, all too well. She had been there too, and then Louie had come along. She lost her husband, and she raised her children, and then her granddaughter… Patrice pulled her mind away from those painful thoughts and offered a kind smile to the woman in front of her. "It felt good, didn't it?"

"Yes." Sharon allowed her gaze to drift while her smile became wistful. "It really did. I thought that… if I could feel that way, now, and if Andy…" Her jaw clenched. Tears clouded her vision again. Sharon blinked them away and drew a thin, trembling breath. "He said he loved me. I know that he does. But he's right. Our children are always going to come first. When I accepted that I was becoming attached to Rusty, I knew that he came with challenges. When I decided that I was going to keep him, I accepted that I would have to find a way to meet those challenges. He was already my son, even before I adopted him. I promised that boy a family, and I promised him a home. I told him that he would always be safe with me. In many ways he is still learning to trust that. His biological mother did a number on him," she said. Sharon wouldn't reveal much of his past; she knew how uncomfortable it made Rusty for people to know. There was a lot about it, however, that was simply fact. "There were men in and out of their lives, and in and out of their home, when they had one. His mother abandoned him, left him behind not once but twice, all for the sake of the man that she was with at the time. There is a part of Rusty that expects me to do the same thing. I had hoped that over time he would realize that wasn't the case. I hoped that he would understand that simply because my relationship with Andy changed, that didn't mean that who we were as people changed. I could love Andy and still be his mother. He just wasn't interested in being a part of it. If I spoke to Rusty about it, he became defensive. His attitude toward Andy was… a little bit appalling, actually. It was frustrating. I was as frustrated with him as Andy was, but he is my son. He isn't a malicious young man. He's just frightened."

Patrice hummed. She had met Andy. She didn't know him well, but she was beginning to. "I don't imagine Andy's patience was holding up, given the circumstances." Her lips pursed. "So rather than lose you, because he lost a handle on the situation, he removed himself from it."

"Yes." Sharon agreed. "That is it exactly. He was worried that he would damage what we had if Rusty continued to push him. It isn't that he's not a patient man, he can be. He's wonderful with children, he really is, and before we began dating, he was amazing with Rusty. He didn't _stop_ being amazing with Rusty because we became closer; he treated him the same way that he always had. Rusty just…"

"Became a sullen teenager?" Patrice smiled knowingly. "I'm familiar with the phenomenon. Even if he had a reason to feel that way, that's what he was doing." She shook her head. "You know, sometimes the best way to deal with a teenager is to confront them. I used to think, give those kids an inch, and they will take a mile. Do you think that, maybe, you gave Rusty room to breathe and he sucked the air out of it?"

"He's my son," Sharon said again. "What am I going to do? He is worried about the changes in our lives, and I cannot just ignore that."

"No," Patrice told her. "I don't think that you should. But do you think that you deserve to be alone, and hurting, because Rusty doesn't understand that adult relationships do not have to harm him?" She smiled warmly. "Sharon, you love that boy. He knows that. I believe that he loves you too, or he wouldn't worry about you like he was; that you would get hurt or leave him. It's time to stop being patient. Prove it to him. Show him that you can love a man, and mother him, all at the same time without sacrificing either."

It sounded good. It sounded wonderful, actually. In practice, though, Sharon knew it would be much harder. She smiled sadly. "I think it's too late for that. I can't ask Andy to put himself back in that situation. It wouldn't be fair."

"Neither is letting him walk away," Patrice told her. "Sharon. Do you love him?"

She had already said that she did, but she nodded and answered quietly. "Yes."

"Then what you need to do is tell him that. You aren't asking him to walk back into the same situation. You're asking him to join you in a completely new one. You make things clear to Rusty up front. Make sure that Andy knows that it's okay to deal with him how he needs to, I think Rusty will come around a lot faster, and with more respect if he does." Patrice leaned forward against the table. "Have your cake and enjoy eating it too."

"I wish it was that simple." Sharon sighed. "At this point, I'm not sure that Rusty would really listen to much that I had to say on the subject."

"He's a teenager," Patrice reminded her with a smile. "They're meant to drive us crazy. We love them, but by god, we just want to shake them sometimes too. Think of it this way," she said, "what example are you giving Rusty by walking away from love because someone else is uncomfortable with it? We sacrifice for our children, but throwing away your happiness to appease his fears is not doing him any favors either. When he leaves home in a couple of years and you're left alone, what then?"

" _That_ is a phenomenon that _I_ am familiar with," Sharon said; she allowed her tone to dip, grow dry. "I've had the empty nest before, and I rather enjoyed it. Yes, I was sad to see Emily and Ricky leave home, and I miss them terribly, but I didn't _feel_ alone. I was content with having time to myself." Whether that had meant she spent her time alone or with friends, it was still time that was allotted for her. She felt rather accomplished knowing that her children were chasing their dreams, healthy and happy, and with the best morals and values that she could teach them. Then Rusty had come along. She loved him enough that it didn't feel like a sacrifice to give that up for a few years. She knew that he would leave one day. She wasn't ready for that to happen yet, and neither was he, but when that time came, she would embrace it as an accomplishment for both of them, just as she had in the past. Sharon frowned as she thought through it. Was Patrice right? Did that mean that she had to embrace it _alone_? How much different, how much _better_ would it be to have Andy by her side?

Good heavens but she wanted to raise grandchildren with that man. To grow older, and watch their children, hers and his, become parents. To dote, and laugh, and just enjoy life; they had talked about traveling once. She could almost picture them, happily retired, just picking a destination and flying toward it. There were so many things that she wanted to see and do, and experience. She could do them alone, and she was sure that she could even enjoy that. It was not what she wanted, however. She wanted _him_.

She wanted to be in his arms and in his heart. Most of all, she just wanted him to be able to look at her again. She wanted to get lost in his eyes. She wanted to feel the warmth of his stare, to have her stomach dance and her heart flutter. She wanted to not be able to wipe the smile off her face. She wanted to see his eyes crinkle at the corners when he was happy, and god but she missed that crooked grin of his.

The turn that her thoughts had taken startled her. It filled her with such longing, and such pain, that it stole her breath away. Sharon gripped the edge of the table and closed her eyes. Her chest clenched painfully. It made her feel just a little bit queasy, the sensation of loss that accompanied that longing.

It took a great deal of effort, but she lifted her pain-filled gaze and stared at the woman across from her. "I don't know what to do," she admitted.

"Yes you do." Patrice reached across and took her hands. "You know exactly what you need to do. You go and tell that man that you love him. You show him that he was right to let you go, because in the end, you're still his to hold on to."

Sharon closed her eyes again. This time the tears managed to gather on her lashes. "It may not be that easy," she said. Sharon wouldn't blame him for sending her away.

"No," the other woman agreed. "It might not be, but if you don't try, you'll regret that even more."

Sharon knew that she was right. "Intentions get us nowhere without action," she said quietly. She didn't know that it would work; she didn't know that they could piece their relationship back together. She wanted to try. She _needed_ to try. She owed it to him, as much as herself, to reach out. "Okay," she said finally. Sharon drew a breath and let it out slowly. "I will speak to him."

It was a start. Patrice leaned back with a smile. She lifted her coffee again. It had gone cool, so she waved the waitress over. They would finish their coffee, and then, she had a little something to do herself. She would see about Rusty Beck and his little attitude. It was time, she thought, to finally invite him over for the dinner that she and Louie had been talking about for several weeks. She was also certain that Louie would find all this very interesting.

When he got over his initial shock, of course.

 **MCMCMCMCMCMC**

After everyone was settled, Patrice smiled widely at the boy seated across from her. "I'm glad you could make it, Rusty. We've been meaning to do this for a while. You were such a big help with the move."

His cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. "I was glad to help." He wouldn't mention that the Lieutenant paid him. The truth was, he would have done it anyway.

"Sure you were." Provenza rolled his eyes at him. He was grinning though as he picked up a dish and passed it around the table. "How is your schedule shaping up? Were you able to iron out those classes you wanted?" Rusty had been in and out of the Murder Room all week, his head together with Buzz as they talked about courses and which ones he should take now and what he could put off for another semester. There was an intro to film class that he was thinking of taking, if he could make it work with the rest of his schedule. Buzz was beside himself with excitement at the idea.

"It's going to be okay, I think." Rusty took the dish of steamed, glaze covered green beans and spooned some onto his plate before passing it across the table to Patrice. "The film class is going to work out. I was able to get into a different history class that I thought was closed. They had a couple of drops so..." He shrugged. "Buzz was right, sometimes openings aren't posted. I emailed the instructor, and it worked."

"Good god, don't tell him that." Provenza snorted. "His head is big enough already." He held out the basket of rolls to Rusty, but when the boy declined, he shook his head. The kid was starting to pick up some of his eating habits from his mother.

"Be nice." Patrice made a face at him, but her eyes were sparkling. "Buzz is a nice boy."

Provenza pouted while Rusty laughed. "No siding with her," he warned, pointing his fork at Rusty. "You're here to see me!"

Rusty blinked. He stared at the Lieutenant and then asked, rather drily, "Sure I am. Did you cook?"

"Okay you two," Patrice laughed at the pair of them. They would spend the entire evening bickering if she let them, but she knew they would fully enjoy themselves. "Let's play nice." She tore a piece of her roll off and tilted her head at Rusty. "Speaking of schedules, I managed to finally have coffee with your mother the other day." From the corner of her eye she watched Louie's head pop up. She had not told him about the meeting.

"Good heavens, why would you do a thing like that?" He gave her a worried look. Provenza leaned forward in his chair. "You didn't mention it."

"Why wouldn't I?" Patrice smiled patiently at him. She waved a hand between them. "She's a very nice lady and I like talking to her." Patrice's attention was back on Rusty. "I'm a little worried about her, though. She seemed awfully sad. Is everything going okay at home, Rusty?"

Rusty swallowed hard and looked between the two of them. He reached for his water glass and took a drink before shaking his head. "What do you mean? Everything is okay. Did..." He stumbled over his words a bit. "Did she say something specific? Maybe she was upset about the case." He glanced worriedly at the Lieutenant before moving his gaze back to Patrice. "I mean, that happens sometimes." Sharon seemed okay to him. Life was finally getting back to normal, as far as he was concerned.

"I'm sure that it does." Patrice placed her fork down and folded her hands together. She looked across the table at Rusty. She studied the boy, long and hard. Beside her she felt Louie shift. From the corner of her eye she could see him frowning as he looked between the two of them. For the moment, she chose to ignore him. "I think, Rusty, she was more heart broken than truly sad, although I think a good deal of it was also disappointment." When he looked up at her, wide-eyed and so surprised, Patrice just gave him a hard, penetrating look. "I think if you dig down real deep," she said, managing to sound as calm and patient as ever, "you might just know why."

"I..." Rusty saw her brows rise. He put his fork down. Suddenly he wasn't all that hungry any more. He glanced at the Lieutenant before his gaze fell to the table. "I'm not really sure what you mean," he said quietly. "If Sharon is upset about something she hasn't mentioned it."

"No, she wouldn't. Would she?" Patrice shook her head at him. "Rusty Beck, I might not know you very well, but I've heard a lot about you. I expected a lot better. Of all the things I heard, and as much bragging as Louie has always done about you...frankly, I'm disappointed in you too."

"Patrice, what is going on?" Provenza looked between the two of them before frowning at his girlfriend. He knew that the boy could be a little bit impulsive at times, but he thought that they had all finally gotten that under control.

She waited for just a moment to see if Rusty would answer, when he didn't, Patrice sighed quietly. She turned her gaze to Louie and smiled. "You mentioned, more than once, your frustration with Andy and how he wouldn't tell you what was going on with Sharon. You know, why they weren't seeing each other anymore." She shrugged. "So I asked her. As it turns out, they didn't fight, and Andy didn't do anything wrong." That was one of the theories that Louie had, that his partner had screwed up some how and now everyone was going to have to pay for it. "He broke up with her. _He_ called it off," she said. "Turns out he never signed on to deal with a sulking, selfish, teenager. Sharon can't really blame him for it; she said that she wouldn't stick around either. She kept hoping that Rusty would get used to the idea of their being together, that it would work itself out. When it didn't, Andy told her that he didn't want to be the reason she was hurting. He wasn't going to make her choose between them, because there wasn't a choice. Their children were always going to come first in their lives, that's the way it should be." She stared at Rusty's bent head and her gaze hardened. "She's sad because she misses him, and she's disappointed, because she really thought that by now Rusty would trust her enough to know that she would never bring someone into their lives that would hurt him. She thought that he would understand that no matter what, whenever possible, she would always choose him."

He looked up at her. His face had flushed with heat. Rusty glanced at the Lieutenant. The older man was looking shocked, and just a little bit dismayed. He could tell that he was thinking it over. Rusty shook his head and looked at Patrice again. "I never told Sharon that she couldn't date Andy. Not like she ever asked me anyway. They dated for a whole year before they even bothered to call it that, and all of a sudden, it's my fault that it's not working?"

With the way that he had suddenly become defensive, Provenza immediately realized that Rusty had something to feel guilty about. His eyes narrowed. He studied the boy. "Why would she need to ask you, Rusty?" The question was posed quietly, and just as calmly as he could manage with the thoughts that were running through his head. No, Patrice didn't know Rusty very well, but he did. He could just imagine the attitude that the boy had been tossing around if it had driven his partner _away_ from what he wanted most. God knew Flynn was stubborn as hell. He didn't give up easily, and he wasn't one to walk away from a fight. When it came to his personal life, though, his family and his heart and the areas where he was most vulnerable, he usually took his beating and sucked it up. Breaking up with the Captain was just exactly the sort of stupid thing that he would do… to keep from making a bigger mess out of it later, and to keep from being hurt even worse.

Rusty stared at him. He blinked a couple of times, but looked incredulous. "Are you kidding? I live there. I think I deserve the right to know if she's going to start bringing guys around all hours of the day and night. Not to mention that he's there like… all the time. Seeing each other at work all day isn't enough?" Rusty shook his head. "Look, if they broke up, I had nothing to do with it. Sharon doesn't talk to me about her personal life; it's none of my business. It sounds to me like he did what they all do. He got what he wanted and he was over it."

The Lieutenant's reaction was immediate. His face has gone ruddy. He leaned forward against the table and pointed a finger at him. "Now, you listen here…"

Patrice reached over and placed a calming hand on his arm. Her head tilted at Rusty. "I didn't realize that your mother was dating that much," she stated calmly. "She seemed a bit embarrassed, actually. Her words were that she was a bit out of practice, or she might have seen this coming."

The carefully sympathetic tone was not lost on Rusty, but it was better than being yelled at. He sighed and shrugged. "No, not really. Actually, Sharon doesn't date, except Flynn. The only guys that ever came around before were Jack and then Andy." His brows drew into a frown. "Why? What did she say?"

"Oh, nothing much." Patrice shrugged. "It was hard getting it out of her at all, but once she opened up…I really think she just needed _someone_ to talk to about it. Some of what she said is making a lot of sense now. That the worst part was that they said they would be still be friends, but she isn't sure how. I imagine it's just painful, but maybe that will work itself out." Patrice lifted her iced tea and took a sip. "Then she mentioned something about thinking that she learned all the lessons that she needed to from her marriage, but she was still making the same mistakes. I don't really know what happened there, so I'm not sure that I really understand it. What I did gather," she explained, "was that she feels like it's her fault. Rusty, if you never spoke to them about dating, why would she feel that way? Why would Andy feel like he needed to separate himself from your mother to keep from hurting her… over you?"

Rusty rubbed his hands against his jeans. He swallowed past the painful lump in his throat and stared at his plate. His stomach clenched and twisted. He never wanted Sharon to feel like that, and he didn't want her to be hurting over it. "All I said," he began, "was that if they were going to… be together, that I didn't want to see it, and if he was going to spend the night, I wanted to know ahead of time so I wouldn't have to be there. I told them whatever they wanted to do was fine, but I didn't want to be part of it. I'm really not looking for a father figure." Rusty looked up. His eyes glinted brightly. "I don't need his advice, and he doesn't need to play it up to me to look good to Sharon."

Louie was getting ready to blow his top, Patrice could tell. She held up a hand before he could. "I see," she said patiently. "So you made your mother feel like she couldn't be with a man she really likes in her own home, but she wasn't going to spend all of her time away from you either. You made a man who really cares about your mother walk away from her, because you felt insecure about your place with her. You asked her to choose, but there was never a choice. Rusty…" She shook her head and smiled sadly at him. There was disappointment in her dark gaze. "That woman loves you beyond reason, but you aren't always going to live at home, honey. One day you're going to move out. No one is asking you to right now, but one day you'll want to. You're going to live your life, just the way that you want to. When does your mother get to live hers?"

He stared at his plate. It began to blur. His jaw was tight and his throat was aching. Rusty shook his head. His hands gripped the seams of his jeans beneath the table. He drew a shaky breath, but didn't look up. "I just didn't want to see her get hurt."

"It's a little too late for that," she said. Patrice smiled sadly. "I just hope the advice I gave her worked. I hope she listened." She looked at Louie and shrugged. "I told her that sometimes, our kids are just brats. We love them, but we just want to shake them too. I told her to go and get her guy."

Provenza snorted. "You think she listened?" He sat back in his chair with a sigh. "She's stubborn." She wasn't the only one. He was fighting the urge to smile. Good god, he loved this woman. She walked right into the situation and took charge of it. He couldn't say that he wouldn't have done the same, just with a lot less finesse.

"So am I." Patrice smiled at him. "I think we can take care of Mister Beck and his issues with parental dating. Maybe she will find that his attitude has changed, and that will help her decide to mend the bridge that he tried to torch out from beneath her."

"Remind me never to make you mad at me," Provenza said. He slanted a look at Rusty. "Yes, I think we can take care of that attitude." He picked up his fork again and pointed it at Rusty. "It's time we had a talk… about a great many things."

 **-TBC-**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Worst Case Scenario**

 **By Kadi**

 **Rated K+**

 **Disclaimer:** It isn't my sandbox. I just come here to play...

 **A/N:** As always, special thanks to the awesome beta **deenikn8**.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

It was well past dark when Andy Flynn finally pulled into his driveway. Thursday was always the longest day of the week for him. No matter what else was going on, he took time out of the day to head over to his regular AA meeting at St. Francis. That sometimes meant juggling things, like whatever case they were currently working on. He made those meetings, though. Even if he went to another one during the week, he always made _that_ one. There were times, like tonight, when that meant heading back to the office to wrap up a case report before finally heading home.

Andy hadn't really minded it. The office was empty when he got back, and he completed it faster than he would have if the others had been there. It was easier, too, to be there while Sharon wasn't.

He promised her that they would still be friends. He felt like an ass for lying, but being near her, hell, just looking at her was too damned painful. He wasn't sure that he would ever forget the stricken look in her eyes when he told her it was over. That was before she had covered it, smiled, and told him that she understood. Somehow he managed to do the one thing that he tried like hell to avoid. He hurt her.

He kept telling himself that it had to get easier. That soon he wouldn't be plagued by the memory of her taste on his lips, or the way that she felt in his arms. Soon he would be able to look at her again. He wouldn't see the hurt that was hiding behind her smile.

There was part of him that wanted to take it back. To try harder to understand what Rusty was going through. The kid was just on the verge of pushing him too damned far. Already he saw the strain of it was weighing on Sharon. She was going to have to choose between them and there was no way that she would ever choose him. There was no way that she ever _should_. That was just the way it was.

They had tried. It was good, for a while. It just hadn't worked out.

She was right when she told him that having a relationship would be about more than just the two of them. It would affect everything in their lives; it would touch their work and their families. Funny, they managed to conquer the work thing just fine. It was the family side of it that pulled them apart. He never imagined that would be the cause of them failing, but then again, he never thought Sharon would ever take a chance on a guy like him to begin with.

Maybe, he thought, Rusty saw something he didn't. Like the truth. He was never going to be good enough for her. He could love her, and god almighty but he didn't think that he could love her more, but that didn't mean that he was what she need in her life.

Andy tried not to think about it, but those thoughts plagued him as he sat in his car, staring at his dark and lonely house. He used to like living alone. Now it weighed on him. He started to let himself imagine what it would be like to come home with Sharon every night. To go to bed and wake up, and know that she would be there. To feel her beside him, the last thing that he saw each night, and the first thing each morning. That dream was gone now.

The pain of it was so deeply rooted inside of him that he always felt it. It was a gnawing, constant ache in his chest. It was worse when she was near him, when he could almost reach out and touch her. The rest of the time it was gaping, the hole that her absence left in his life, and he really had no one to blame but himself. He let her go. He walked away. She wasn't his to keep.

With a ragged sigh, Andy pulled himself out of the car. His arms hung tiredly beside his body, while his shoulders drooped beneath the weight of his current heartache. He walked toward the house, but movement in the shadows of the front porch had him stopping. His hand went immediately to the gun at his side. He thumbed the guard on his holster and rested his hand on the hilt as he took a step closer to the house.

There was someone on the porch. His heart skipped a beat when Sharon stepped out of the shadows and into the dim light that the street lamps created. The initial thrill at seeing her couldn't be suppressed, but he tried. Andy let his hand drop away from his gun and moved closer. He stepped up onto the porch and stared at her. "What are you doing here?"

She had been waiting for a while. Sharon had gone home first, and with Rusty out for the evening, she had changed into something a little more casual before driving over to see him. She tried to call first but he hadn't answered his phone. Then she had remembered it was Thursday. It had taken her three days since the talk with Patrice to drum up the courage to face him like this. Sharon wasn't going home without doing that. She decided to wait on his porch.

It was a chilly night. She had her arms wrapped tightly around herself. She was still cold, despite the thick, gray cardigan that she was wearing. Sharon offered a small smile as she stood there. "I thought that we should talk," she said gently. "We _need_ to talk," she added.

What was there left to talk about? Andy scrubbed a hand over his face. He nodded as he gestured toward the house. "Come in." He wondered if this was really it. If she had decided that they couldn't work together. Andy wouldn't blame her for asking him to transfer. It might not be that bad of an idea, all things considered. That didn't stop the ache in his chest from intensifying. Doing the right thing didn't always mean doing the easy thing.

The resignation in his tone, and the way that he hesitated before speaking sent a shock of pain through her. Sharon drew a deep breath and managed a weak smile while she waited for him to unlock the door and let her inside. She moved into the house; the lights came on as they stepped in and she stood to one side while Andy dropped his keys and removed his jacket. Now that the moment was upon her, she didn't know how to begin. She just knew that she needed to do this, to at least try before she closed the door on this part of her life.

It was nervous energy that had her walking through his living room. The house was only modestly sized, and what she would expect of a bachelor with grown children. Sharon ended up standing before the back patio doors. They opened up onto a small deck. The yard itself was small. Andy hadn't needed much, and she knew the deck space was primarily used for the occasional gathering, barbecues and the like. She folded her arms across her chest as she stood there. In the reflection of the glass she could see him stop near the bar that separated the living room and kitchen. He watched her for a moment before he ran a hand through his hair and turned away.

Sharon watched him face the bar. His shoulders seemed to hunch. He stood for a moment before he removed his badge and gun. She ached to walk over, run her hands up his back and lean into him. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and closed her eyes.

Gazing. Sharon did that when she was particularly bothered by something, or lost in thought. Andy placed his cell phone on the bar beside his badge and gun and took a moment to roll up his shirtsleeves. How many times had he watched her do this, in her office or in front of the balcony doors at her condo? He watched her for a moment before he realized that she was staring back at him in the reflection of the doors. Andy sighed quietly before walking over to stand beside her.

The tension in his chest rose and spread across his shoulders. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked out over his backyard. "I can probably get a spot in Robbery Homicide if that's what you want," he offered. He would make it easy on her. What else could he do?

Sharon looked up at him. Her lips parted. She felt gutted as the air in her lungs was expelled in a single breath. "No," she whispered. Even if he wouldn't try again, she couldn't lose him completely. The very thought of it filled her with such pain she almost hunched over with it. "Andy." She could barely say his name past the ache in her throat. She shook her head, her lips parted again, but there were no words forthcoming.

Andy looked away from her. His jaw clenched. It was hard to decipher his feelings, to separate the grief from the sudden anger. "Then what, Sharon?" He shook his head. "What do you want me to do here? I'm doing the best that I can. You gotta give me something, because if you don't want me to transfer, I don't know what else there is that I can do for you now."

"You can stop being so noble." She took a step toward him. It was the anger that helped push past her pain. "Andy, I don't need you to arrange the world to my liking. I told you that once. I can look out for myself." Her voice softened when his eyes flashed. She hadn't come to fight with him. "I'm not saying that I don't appreciate that you want to. I do, truly. It means a lot to me, more than you can know," she added, thinking of her failed marriage. "It's one of the many things that I love about you."

He stared at her, unable to speak for a moment. Andy shifted where he stood. He drew his hands out of his pockets but they remained at his sides. His palms itched with the need to reach out and touch her. His back knotted with tension as he restrained himself. "Sharon." He looked down, averted his gaze to the floor. "I can't… We can't," he corrected. "It isn't gonna work."

"Yes." On this she would fight him, she realized. She wanted it. She wanted _him_. "Unless you can tell me that you walked away because you really don't feel anything for me, I am not willing to give up because our situation is a little more complicated than we expected it to be." She took a step closer. Sharon laid a hand on his arm and felt the muscles tense beneath her palm. She kept it there, allowed it to slide up to his shoulder. "I am not going to beg you to be with me, that isn't what I want. Nor am I going to try and maneuver you into something that isn't working for _you_. I want this," she said, voice hitching. "I don't want to look back and regret losing what I think that we could have because we were trying to avoid a bad outcome."

"Not wanting you isn't the problem." With her standing so close he could smell her perfume. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out. His hand moved beneath her hair to cup the back of her neck. Andy drew her closer and bent his head until their foreheads were resting together. "I want you," he rumbled quietly. "Don't ever think that's it. Dammit Sharon. You have no idea how hard it is to try and pretend that everything is going to be okay."

"I think I do," she whispered. Her hands lifted to his chest. Sharon leaned closer and tipped her head back. "I understand what you tried to do," she said. "I'm sorry that you felt that you had to. I don't know how to make that up to you. I _will_ talk to Rusty," she told him. "My children are always going to come first, but they aren't going to dictate my life, or my relationships." Their faces were so close together that she could feel his breath on her lips. She tipped her face toward him, nuzzled his cheek. Her lips brushed his in a feather light caress. "I will never choose between you. There is no choice. Rusty is my son. One day he will be able to accept that his place in my life, and in my heart is permanent. I won't put my life on hold waiting for that day to come. _Andy_." Her fingers curled into his shirt. "I love you."

Both of his hands moved into her hair. Andy turned her, so that the sliding door was at her back. He pressed her against it and captured her mouth. He kissed her as he had wanted to for weeks, with all the desire and the passion that he had been holding back, at first because they had needed to go slowly, and later because he had ended their relationship. He was aware of her arms sliding around his middle, and her hands gripping his back.

As quickly as it began, it ended. Andy let go of her and stepped back. His eyes were dark. He was winded. He shook his head at her. His tongue swept across his lips, she had tasted of cinnamon and the tea that he knew she had upon arriving home that evening. Being with her wasn't about sex for him, but he knew that if he kept touching her, stopping would be a new kind of hell. She looked startled, dazed. There was a question in her eyes. Andy tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I love you," he told her. "I won't be able to walk away from you again. The first time was hard enough."

"Don't." She moved back into his space. "It's that simple. We can do this," she felt it more keenly now than she ever had before. "Stop being so damned noble, Andy Flynn."

There was a challenge in her eyes. He watched her gaze drop to his lips. Andy groaned. "It isn't nobility. Ever think that maybe I don't want to get hurt either? Do you think I'll ever be able to forget what you feel like if this ends later?"

The raw desire in his words made her stomach dance in anticipation. Heat moved through her. She pulled her teeth across her bottom lip and gazed up at him. "We can't promise we will never hurt each other." They both knew better than that. Their pasts had taught them that lesson. "I don't want to hurt you, Andy. I don't want to give you up either." Her eyes closed. Sharon shook her head. There was almost a plea in her tone. "Don't make me beg," she said.

His jaw clenched. He reached for her again, but this time his hands ghosted along her arms, fingers barely touching, until they reached her hips. He drew her forward. "If we do this, I can't promise he isn't going to piss me off," Andy warned her. "Sharon, that kid is going to push my buttons. He's going to try and test my patience."

"You would never hurt him. That's what he needs to realize." Sharon sighed. "Andy, he's reacting on instinct. He _knows_ you. He knows that you would never hurt any of us. It's a matter of his head and his instincts getting on the same page. I can only imagine the other men that his mother brought into his life, but I know that the last one hurt him, physically. She chose the man that physically abused her son and walked away. Rusty knows that I would never do that, but this is the first time that I have been involved with anyone since he came to me. If it weren't you, it would be anyone that I was dating." She lifted her hands to cup his face. "I shouldn't have coddled him. He needs to see this. He needs to see us, being who we are, and realize that not every relationship is like that. Yes," she agreed, "you are going to lose your temper with him. You are going to lose your temper with me. We will argue. Rusty needs you to be frustrated with him. He needs you to tell him what he's doing wrong. He needs to see us work through our problems and know that relationships are not about sex, and drugs, and greed. He needs to know that we respect each other enough to challenge each other when we need to. He needs you to respect him enough to call him on the crap that he's been pulling. I'm not going to break up with you because my son made you angry."

"If he never comes around?" Andy tilted his head at her. "Have you thought about that? What if he never gets used to this. What about your other kids? Have you thought about them? What if they have problems with this too?" Andy looked away from her for a moment. "Sharon… We're assuming that Rusty's problem with all this is about his past. We don't know that. What if your kids are seeing what we can't? What if they know that I'm not what you need?"

His doubt stemmed from their similar pasts, she knew, and the guilt that he felt at having disappointed and lost his family. Sharon leaned into him. "Andy," she spoke his name quietly. "You are what I need," she assured him, "because you are what I want. We didn't step into this blindly. I know who you are. I know what you are. I know the risks, and more than that, I trust you." She exhaled a soft sigh. "If you don't want to do this, just say it now. No excuses, no hiding. I will leave and we will never discuss it again. Our children are not going to stand between us," she told him. "Not mine, and not yours. They will always be in our hearts first, but they are living their lives. We deserve the opportunity to live ours."

"So what are you saying?" He searched her eyes. She could be such an enigma to him. She was always so fierce when it came to her children, especially Rusty. Andy shook his head. "We keep this going and it's going to involve them. They're all going to be in it." At some point, if they were lucky, they would be blending their two families.

"Yes," she acknowledged. "Andy, I'm saying that I was wrong. I told you when we started this that I was a packaged deal. I expected you to accept, blindly, that I have a child living in my home. It was foolish. Of course you've accepted that. The truth is, we are the package. You and I. Someday, sooner than I want to believe, Rusty is going to leave home. He is going to step into the world and leave me behind, just as he is supposed to do. He's my son, but you're my partner. If the last few years have taught us anything it is that we are stronger together."

It was when they were at odds and out of sync that the world felt off. Yes, he had experienced that too. They had been drawn together, almost from the moment they were forced to work together, even before she took over the division. They had both fought it back then. He hadn't wanted to like her, and he sensed the same was true on her end. It was easier to raise hell with her, to point fingers and be angry. He even tried it after she took over the division. She let him. But the truth was, they could read each other. They were opposites, in so many ways, but it pushed them to think and act in ways that complimented each other. She was right. They were stronger together.

"So what happened," He began, the corner of his mouth quirking up toward a grin, "to us going back to being friends?"

Sharon shrugged. "It would hurt. I think we'd make it eventually. Somehow, along the way, you became my best friend. I'm not sure when, or exactly how, and I don't care. You're in my heart, Andy. We'd find a way, if we had to. I'm hoping that we won't."

He cupped her chin and tipped her face up. "I love you," he said again, so that she was clear on that fact. "I'm not gonna walk away again. I don't have that in me. It was hard enough the first time. If this is what you want, you've got it, but I can't do it halfway anymore. You have me, Sharon, but I need to be all in."

He was holding back. Either to protect her, or Rusty, or both. She had known that, and she had appreciated it. Looking back, she could see the mistake in allowing it. "I want all of you. I don't want you to hold back, Andy. I'm not fragile. You aren't going to break me." A small smile curved her lips. "I know that I can be… hard to read." She held her emotions in check. She had learned to protect herself. "I want you all in, because that is exactly how I want to move forward too." She looked down for a moment. Sharon licked her lips and when she lifted her gaze again, her eyes were darker. "No more chaperones," she whispered.

His other arm snaked around her waist to draw her closer. "So if I ask you to spend the night?" He ventured carefully, needing her answer before he made his decision. It wasn't about the physical attraction between them, but he needed to feel her close. More than that, he needed to see just how serious she was about this, about choosing _him_ , rather than her son's expectations.

"There is an overnight bag in my backseat." Sex was not a tool, and it was not the basis of their relationship, but she had come to realize that if they were going to move forward together then they were going to have to take that step. Their relationship would have to be about them, their needs, and their desires, and not what the outside world expected of them or was prepared to accept.

He captured her mouth again, this time the kiss much softer. It lingered, a slow slide of lips and tongue, but no less passionate than their earlier kiss. As it ended, his lips moved across her cheek, to her temple, and finally he kissed the tip of her nose. "Go get it," he said, "I'll make dinner. We'll talk." It was going to be a long night. If he did nothing more than hold her tonight, at least she would be there. There was still much to iron out between them, but they were moving forward.

Neither of them was especially hungry, even if the emotional weight of the evening was mostly lifted from their shoulders. Dinner was light, salads consumed at his kitchen table while Sharon explained that it was Patrice who had pushed her to step beyond the fear and the heartache to reach out for what she wanted. The woman certainly had a way about her, they agreed. Andy knew that he would be forever grateful to her.

As morning came upon them, Andy woke with Sharon pressed against him. They had talked into the night, ignoring fatigue and leaving no questions unanswered. It was important to make sure that they both knew where they stood with each other, and where it was that they both wanted this relationship to go. When sleep could no longer be avoided, Andy took her hand and drew her with him to his room. Somehow, lying down with Sharon in his arms, with one of his t-shirts covering her body felt more intimate than making love would have been. It was not what he had imagined having her in his bed that first time would be like, but holding her as they had both drifted into the exhaustion that settled upon them wasn't a bad way to end the night.

They had moved during the night. Andy had rolled onto his side, as was his habit, to face the wall. He found Sharon nestled against him, snuggled into his back. Somehow that didn't surprise him as much as he thought that it would. She always seemed to get cold so easily, and he always slept hot. He kept the temperature in the house low. It was cool in the room that morning. A small grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. He wondered if anyone would ever believe that Sharon Raydor was a heat-seeking snuggler?

He grinned as he eased away from her. She sighed and moved closer. Her hand moved up his back and curled into his shirt. He moved slowly, not wanting to wake her, and managed to slide out of her reach. Andy sat up on the edge of the bed and watched as she shifted into the place that he left behind. Her face was buried in the pillow, hair obscuring his view. He reached out, and careful to not wake her, he slid a lock of hair back. In sleep she was at peace. The lines that had settled around her eyes and mouth these last weeks had eased. He had never seen her like this before, without make up to hide her away from him. Andy smiled. She was beautiful to him, even with every line and blemish on display.

He pulled the blankets up and covered her as he rose, and then he stepped into the bathroom. There was a level of intimacy in sleeping together, and he knew that there would be more to come, but for now he pushed the door quietly closed and went through his morning routine.

While he was standing in the shower, water beating down on his back, steam filling the air around him, she surprised him again. He felt, rather than heard, the door behind him open. Before he could turn Andy felt a hand land against his back. As Sharon moved beneath the spray with him Andy turned sideways to make room for her. He was too astonished to do more than stare at her. This was the last thing that he expected, although it was not unwelcome.

Andy kept his eyes above her shoulders. He found himself searching her eyes, but all he found there was determination and a gleam of humor. She knew that she had taken him by surprise and she was reveling in it. He felt an answering grin curving at his mouth. He placed a hand against her waist and drew her closer while his eyes slowly dropped. His gaze moved downward. He drew a breath as his heart rate increased. Heat moved through him.

His arm moved around her waist as his eyes moved back up her body. He found her looking at him, a brow arched and head tilted. He didn't have to tell her that she was beautiful. He showed her instead. Andy lifted a hand and let it slide into her hair. His thumb stroked the curve of her jaw as his head bent. He kept his eyes on hers and let her see the heat in his gaze. He felt the tremor that ran through her as their bodies came together, touching without any barriers between them for the first time. He angled his mouth over hers, the caress light as he concentrated on the feel of her against him. The soft press of her breasts against his chest drew a low groan from his throat.

Her arms slid around his neck, a hand moving into his hair as her back arched. The feel of him, the way her body moved against the hair covering his chest had heat and desire spreading through her. The intensity of it made her breathless. When his tongue danced across her bottom lip she hummed, and drew him closer to deepen the kiss.

He could have stood there kissing her forever, but his head was spinning with the knowledge that he was holding her in his shower, that he was touching her for the first time. Maybe it was the damned nobility that she accused him of the night before, but Andy lifted his head and gazed down at her again. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." The response was whispered. "We're all in," she reminded him. Her eyes dropped to his lips, just for a moment, before lifting to meet his gaze again. "We can't go back. We can only move forward." They had taken it slowly, and they had tried to plan for every contingency. The only thing that had managed to do was hurt them both. Sharon shook her head at him. A smile curved her lips. She knew the effect that she had on him, she could feel the heat of his arousal and the way he held himself almost rigid while he waited. "Stop holding back," she told him. "I want _you_." That included all of the passionate, hot-blooded, loose-tempered, sarcasm and stubbornness. She was never blind to who he was, she had fallen in love with him, _all_ of him.

He reached behind him and shut off the shower. Andy curled an arm around her waist and drew her tight against him while pushing the shower door open again. He maneuvered them both out, but captured her mouth again. Having her in his shower was a goal for another time; right now he wanted her where he could get his hands and mouth on every inch of her. She was laughing at him, arms wrapped tightly around his neck again as he walked them toward the bedroom.

"Andy!" Her eyes widened as he lowered them onto the sheets. Their bodies were still glistening with water from the shower. Only the ends of her hair had managed to get wet, but his was standing up and still incredibly damp after having just been washed.

"We'll change them," he grumbled. He drew her arms over her head and held them there with one hand while his mouth moved down the graceful column of her neck. "You wanted me to let go. Stop distracting me."

The laughter quickly turned to a low, throaty moan as he moved steadily downward. Yes, this was exactly what she had asked of him. As always, he wasn't about to disappoint her.

They were both late to work, but they had taken full advantage of the morning before going back to the shower. A quick, heated romp was not what they had been waiting so long for. After the many weeks of uncertainty and heartache, Sharon chose to ignore the fact that they were late, and that it was obvious that they had arrived together, despite having taken their own cars to work. They would simply have to make sure that it didn't happen again. They had done very well at keeping their relationship separate of their professional responsibilities before; they would again, she was certain. For once, though, their personal lives had needed more care and attention.

Standing in her office, Sharon could feel the heat of his gaze. She stared at the top of her desk, but couldn't suppress the smile that spread across her face. She gave it a few moments and measured them carefully. When she finally looked up his attention was on his own desk, and the work that was waiting for him this morning. Sharon nodded to herself. They would be okay.

Before settling in completely, Sharon lifted her phone and sent a text to Lieutenant Provenza. She knew very well that Patrice had told her partner, by now, what had gone on between her and Andy. It was simply the way that relationships worked. _Tell Patrice that I said thank you_. _Take her out. Anywhere that she would like to go. My treat._ Ordinarily, Sharon would have had them over to dinner to express her gratitude, but she didn't think that they were quite ready for that just yet.

She turned her attention onto her own work, but not without acknowledging that there was one conversation that still needed to be had. It was time that she made it clear to Rusty that she would respect his boundaries, but she would not live within them.

 **-TBC-**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Worst Case Scenario**

 **By Kadi**

 **Rated K+**

 **Disclaimer:** It isn't my sandbox. I just come here to play...

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Lieutenant Provenza's lecture was still ringing in Rusty's ears a full day later. Even after Patrice had expressed her disappointment in him, the Lieutenant had his turn. Rusty kind of expected that, at least in hindsight. The older man wasn't about to let him off the hook, not this time.

While they had finished dinner, Rusty listened to all of the many ways in which he could improve his behavior. It wasn't only about lecturing him though; he realized that throughout the conversation. They made a point of explaining how different his present situation was from those he experienced before.

Although their names might be the same, that was where the similarities between the two Sharons in his life ended. It was something that Rusty had already known very well, but the whole idea of _this_ Sharon dating, in the same way that other people did, it just threw him. He never really expected that. Rusty wasn't sure why; maybe because he never really thought of Sharon as being like _most people_.

Rusty spent that night and the entire next day thinking about it. When he met her, Sharon wasn't dating. She was married. She didn't go out on dates and she didn't have people over. In the beginning she was around all the time, except for when she had to be at work, but after he was out of Emergency Care, she had friends that she would see. She would go to dinners, or on outings as her schedule allowed. She went to museums, and there were shopping trips. She always came in at a relatively appropriate hour, and if she was going to be late, or if her day was interrupted by a murder, she would always tell him. Sharon never wanted him to think that she wasn't coming back.

In just those ways she was so very different from his birth mother. Sharon Beck would never have bothered. She would be gone all night or for a couple of nights, and it wasn't unusual for him to wake up and find some strange man wandering around their place. Sometimes those guys would hang out for a couple of days, or sometimes they would be gone just as quickly as they showed up. It was always the same thing, jerks who only wanted one thing from her. _Or from him_. Rusty learned very quickly to lock himself in his room when he was home… if they had a home. Otherwise he would make himself scarce.

He never had to do that after he came to live with _this_ Sharon. God why did their names have to be the same? It always gave him a headache. It got jumbled in his head sometimes. For the most part he thought of them as his mom and Sharon… but there were other times when he thought of Sharon and the idea of her as his mother came so easily, so instinctively, that he had to stop and remind himself that he was adopted. Introducing Sharon as his mother came just as easily now, he rarely even distinguished the fact that she had adopted him. For that reason he felt incredibly guilty to think he was the reason that she had been so sad lately.

When she first began hanging out with Flynn, it all seemed so… different and normal. She said that they were only friends. They worked together. Rusty believed her, at least at first. The Lieutenant seemed to come around a lot, or she mentioned that they were going somewhere together. They went to dinner, or movies. He took her to lunch on slow workdays, and there were other events that they attended together. She helped him shop for his step-grandsons. When it seemed like they were living on lockdown, because of his stalker and those letters, Andy would drop by with takeout, usually a burger for him and a salad for Sharon, instead of their usual dinner out.

Maybe Lieutenant Provenza and Patrice were right; his head was shoved up his ass. Although they hadn't said it in those exact words, the sentiment was clear. How many times had Sharon said, quite plainly, that they were _not_ dating? To him it just seemed like they were. What else was he supposed to call it? Most of the time she didn't go out with anyone else and from what he heard around the Murder Room the Lieutenant wasn't seeing anyone else either. Rusty just thought that was the way that old people _dated_ ; especially when one of them was still married.

After Jack had come and gone Sharon had changed a bit. He understood a little better why she wouldn't talk about her marriage. He still didn't understand why she wouldn't just end it, but that too had come in time. Being married to Jack had not kept her from spending time with Andy, however. When she wasn't at work, she was with Andy, and likewise. Jack seemed to fade into the background completely. He was living in Los Angeles but she didn't speak of him, and she didn't see him. She ignored him as much as possible.

She only spent more time with Andy after the divorce and Rusty thought that was expected. Wasn't that what people who were dating did? The Lieutenant never stayed over, and as far as he knew, Sharon was never at his place. When she wasn't at home she was at work, that was what she told him and he had no reason to not believe her. Rusty never really considered the idea of people _their age_ as being intimate. Not until Lieutenant Provenza began seeing Patrice. He heard things, pieces of conversations that he would like to forget. He started to wonder about Sharon's relationship with Andy. She said that they were just friends. He wondered if maybe she was telling the truth. Very good friends, she said, that was all that they were.

Without warning, that changed. Rusty got comfortable with the idea that his adoptive mother had a best friend that just happened to be a guy. That could happen. He had friends that were guys that he didn't want to date, why couldn't she?

It surprised him when she said that Flynn was taking her out on a date. She told him the name of the restaurant and she seemed a little weird about it. Rusty had gone and looked it up. Serve. One of the most romantic places in Los Angeles, and from the reviews it was also kind of upscale. The Lieutenant was going all out, and Rusty could agree that she deserved it, but it left him feeling a little confused. Why now? They had been spending all of this time together for more than a year, so why was it changing _now_?

That Sharon seemed different sent off warning bells in his head. Maybe he was a selfish jackass. She was happy and giddy, and he was worried about how that was going to affect him. He should have been happy for her, not worrying if the bottom was going to drop out of his life. She was smiling and laughing, and rambling about how relationships could change and people could become closer. It was just so weird, Sharon acting like that.

She never said how the date had gone, but he supposed that it went okay. They went out again a few days later. The more they went out, the more cheerful she seemed. When he was around the Murder Room, the Lieutenant seemed just as cheerful. Rusty was trying not to freak out about it too much, but he had this gnawing fear in the bottom of his gut that told him that _this was how it started_.

His mom would meet a guy; she would get all wrapped up in him, and the next thing he knew… his entire world would change. Just like it had when she met Gary. She left him to stay with Gary. Rusty couldn't go through that again. Sharon was supposed to be different. She _was_ different. He knew that she would never hurt him like that, but that didn't stop the way his chest would tighten and his throat would close up when she mentioned that she had plans with Andy.

Rusty shrugged it off. He tried to pretend like nothing had really changed at all. She was going out with him, just like she had before. He told himself that everything would be okay. They were calling it something different, but it wasn't really like they were _doing_ anything different, and then one evening he came home and walked into the condo to find them standing together in the kitchen.

It was a scene not dissimilar from one that Rusty had witnessed a thousand times before. The breakfast bar was between them, and there were cups of tea in front of each of them. It wasn't like they were making out, but they were _kissing_. It startled him more than anything else. As Rusty stepped into view it was right in front of his face, just how much that relationship had changed. It wasn't like they were doing anything overly gross, but the Lieutenant's hand had been cupping the back of her head as he leaned across the bar. Sharon's much smaller hand was curled around his wrist. Rusty didn't know how long he stood there, but it was long enough to see them pull apart and for Sharon to smile in a way that he had never seen before.

Rusty had turned on the spot and walked away. He made sure to close his bedroom door especially hard, without exactly slamming it. He wanted them to know that he was there, but he wasn't ready to talk to her yet. His heart was beating much too fast. In truth, he was terrified. What would happen to them if Flynn took over their lives? If Sharon got hurt? If she decided that it was time for him to move out and get on with his life so that she could have something a little different?

She tried to tell him that nothing was going to change for them. Rusty didn't want to hear it. He could even tell that Flynn was keeping his distance a little bit, trying to give him some more space to get used to what was going on between him and Sharon. Rusty didn't want to get used to it. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to even _know_ about it. If he could just pretend it wasn't happening, then he didn't have to worry so much about the future.

It was probably a little cruel on his part, he thought now. How often had Sharon reached out to be part of his life? Even when she didn't fully understand what was happening in it. Before Rusty was forced to make a decision or acknowledge his mother's new romance, it was over. When he thought back, he knew exactly when it ended. Sharon's smile was gone. There was sadness in her eyes, and the Lieutenant was nowhere to be found. For just a moment, Rusty was angry about that.

When it happened in the past, his mom would spend days depressed. She would rage and drink, or do drugs, and then she would find another guy to replace him. Sharon didn't do any of those things, not that he expected her to. She was sad, but she didn't act overly depressed. She went to work, she made dinner, and she asked him what classes he planned to take in the fall. The sparkle was gone from her eyes, though. Rusty couldn't help but wonder if Flynn had gotten what he wanted from her and then moved on. That was usually how it worked, right?

It never occurred to him to wonder if their breaking up had something to do with _him_. He was much too busy being more relieved than anything else. Rusty just figured that everything would go back to the way that it was before. Sharon never really seemed all that interested in dating anyone else, and with all that stuff that she said about how friendships could change and grow into something else… well, Rusty told himself that this was a one-off.

He supposed, in the end, that he was right about that. It was a one-off. Sharon hadn't considered dating anyone else, because she hadn't wanted to. She wanted Flynn. _Andy_ , he corrected himself. He had been told that he could call the Lieutenant that, outside of the PAB or other work situations, but Rusty had just rolled his eyes at the idea.

After sitting and talking to Lieutenant Provenza and Patrice for several hours, Rusty realized he really was a jerk. Sharon spent years in a bad marriage and the first time, in a long time, that she was really happy, and in a way that didn't have anything to do with her kids or her career, he had to go and ruin it for her. Rusty didn't know what he was going to be able to do to make that right, but Patrice assured him that she had laid the groundwork for Sharon to do it herself.

All that he could do was be understanding, and try to handle the situation better. If either of them spoke to him about any of it, he should apologize. He was not to approach; both the Lieutenant and Patrice were very clear on that. He should let Sharon come to him; they didn't know how her talk with Andy would go, or if the two of them would even want to try again. He would just have to wait and find out.

Rusty figured his waiting was at an end. When he walked in the door that evening he saw a familiar jacket tossed over the back of the couch. Rusty stood where he was for a moment, just listening. There were noises coming from the kitchen. Rusty walked slowly toward it. He pushed his hands into his pockets and stayed quiet. He wasn't sure what he was going to see, and the truth was that he didn't know what he _wanted_ to see.

As Rusty rounded the corner and peered into the kitchen he found them standing together in front of the stove, Sharon had already changed, as was her habit after work. He couldn't really figure out what was being said, but he heard the low rumble of the Lieutenant's voice. He was standing behind her, an arm wrapped around her waist while she cooked. Rusty didn't really want to pay too close attention to whether he was kissing her or not, so he averted his gaze from that. From the way that Sharon was laughing, that quiet, low sound, he thought they must have fixed things. She sounded happy.

Rusty cleared his throat. He stayed where he was, eyes focused on the floor in front of him. The sounds in the kitchen stopped. He looked up, carefully, and he found that they had both frozen. Rusty watched Sharon look up, but her gaze was for Andy. She touched his face and smiled gently before turning her attention away from him. When she looked at him, Rusty felt his chest tighten. For the first time since he had known her, his mother seemed almost wary of him. Her head tilted, and he knew that she was waiting for him to give her some reaction. Rusty glanced between them before shrugging awkwardly. "You're home early."

"It was a slow day," Sharon replied. She watched her son closely. He wasn't comfortable, but he wasn't running. He wasn't combative either. If anything, he looked incredibly guilty. Her brows drew together as she wondered what had brought about his sudden change in attitude. "We will take them where we can get them. Are you in for the night?"

"Um… Yeah." Rusty shrugged again. "I mean; I don't have to be. I could go out if you wanted to be alone," he offered, hoping that wasn't the wrong thing to say. "But I was just going to go to my room and work on some stuff." He had an idea of what he wanted his next story to be. It was only just beginning to take shape in his head, and Rusty had some research to do.

Sharon gestured behind her. "I was making dinner. You should eat first." She couldn't be very sure, but her son seemed to have had a change in attitude. What had prompted it, she couldn't say. She wanted to find out, but interrogating him right from the start would not get them very far. For now she was still floating on a wake of happiness that the previous evening and that morning had created. Andy wanted to take her back to his house, to spend just a little more time together without the rest of the world intruding, but Sharon wasn't willing to hide with him. If they were going to be successful this time, they would have to face all of their challenges as they presented themselves, and Rusty was, so far, the biggest.

"I had something earlier." Rusty looked behind her and let his gaze move quickly over the Lieutenant. Andy was watching him carefully, eyes hooded and just a little bit untrusting. Rusty supposed that he had earned that. He really had acted like a first class brat before. He didn't let his gaze linger on the other man, though, it moved to the stove instead. "But… if that's a pot roast in the oven, and you're making the glaze for the beans, I could eat again…"

"Okay then. Why don't you—" Sharon trailed off and turned. "Oh damn, the glaze." She nudged Andy aside as she reached out to rescue the saucepan from the burner.

"Yeah." Rusty turned. "I'm going to go put my stuff up and come back to set the table. Obviously, you need help."

"I do not need help," She called after him. "It's fine." Luckily it wasn't scorched; she could still salvage it, quite well actually. "Be quick young man, we're almost finished here." Andy wouldn't eat the pot roast, but there was plenty enough to go with it that would satisfy his vegetarian tastes. The roast was for her and Rusty. It was another way, however minor, for her to show that their lives were not being turned upside down by this relationship. She waited until she was sure that Rusty had made his way down the hall before turning. She gave Andy a wide-eyed look. "What was that?"

"No idea." He leaned back against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. "Maybe we should ask him what he's done." He smirked at her. "He only looks like that when he's done something."

Sharon rolled her eyes at him. She gave his arm a nudge and turned her attention back to making dinner. "You're not entirely wrong. Rusty's apologies are usually more demonstrative than verbal. It's entirely possible that we could be witnessing the beginning of one such event."

"Or he's done something." Andy continued to grin. "Want to flip his room? Or I could go down and search the car."

"Stop it." She lifted the wooden spoon that she was using and pointed it at him. "We are not going to search his car." Sharon sniffed. She tossed her hair back. "I would have traffic pull him over and arrange to have it done by them. What sort of amateur do you take me for, Lieutenant?"

"My mistake." His dark eyes sparkled. Andy pushed away from the counter and reached for her again. His arms slipped around her middle as he pulled her back into his chest. His lips found her neck, and just as if Rusty had not interrupted them, he went back to teasing the soft at her pulse point. "Maybe the kid had a change of heart." He knew she would want to be positive about it. He could try, for her. Part of him wondered if Provenza had anything to do with this. His partner hadn't said anything, but he figured that if Patrice knew, then _he_ knew. It wouldn't surprise him if the old man had taken Rusty aside and said something.

"Maybe," Sharon agreed. She leaned back against him and tilted her head to one side, giving him more access to her neck. "Rusty will speak to me when he's ready, but in the meantime, this is still happening. He is going to have to get used to it." She stopped stirring the glaze and looked up at him. "Andy, I haven't changed my mind about that."

"I know." He leaned in and pressed a light kiss to her lips. "I didn't think that you had." Andy glanced at the stove and made sure that there was nothing else there that required her attention before he turned her around to face him. His arms moved around her waist. "All in," he said, repeating what she had told him that morning.

"All in," she murmured back. Sharon moved her arms around his neck and rose onto the balls of her feet to touch her lips to his. She smiled into the kiss. "If I burn dinner _the kid_ will have reason to complain, and we will have to just listen to it."

"I'll order him a burger." Andy pulled her closer. "I'm not above bribing him," he muttered against her mouth.

It was that scene that Rusty walked in on. He couldn't stop the groan that left his mouth. He covered his eyes. "I still don't want to see it," he said. Rusty shuddered. "Look," he let his hand fall away from his face. They were watching him again, and the wariness was back. "I'm trying here, to be okay with this," he waved his hands at them, "and not freak out or be a total jerk anymore, but please…" He pleaded, "don't make me have to _see_ it. I'm serious." He looked directly at Sharon and if he had to beg, he would. "Do you want to walk in here and find me kissing some guy?"

Whatever adomishment that she had been about to make was suddenly pushed aside. Sharon nodded. "Certainly not. Very good point." He was trying, he said. She looked up at Andy, and while the happiness in her gaze was not reflected there, he shrugged and offered a nod. It would take him longer to be comfortable with Rusty again, but that was understandable. When he offered a small grin, she laid her hand against his chest. Sharon's gaze moved back to Rusty. "We will try to be more respectful of common areas, but Rusty…" Her tone hardened, just a bit, taking on a slightly stern edge, "we expect that sentiment to be returned. We won't always know when you are coming or going. I am not going to hide this part of my life. This relationship is happening, and it is going to continue happening. Do you understand?"

"Yeah." Rusty nodded. "I get it. I do, I just… you know. I don't want to see my mom kissing some dude. Ever. I can't promise I'm not going to say it's gross when I see it. I can try to keep it to myself, but… it's kind of gross."

He looked so desperately helpless that Sharon almost laughed. There were times, like this one, when she was reminded just how young he was. Her lips pursed to keep from curving into a smile. Sharon arched a brow at him. She considered it for a moment. "Fair enough, but do _try_ to refrain," she warned him.

Rusty knew that he could push only so far. "Deal." He walked over and began gathering what he needed to set the table.

"Good." Sharon nodded once more and turned back to the stove. She knew that Andy would hover nearby, simply because he wasn't ready yet to deal with Rusty on his own, at least not in this setting. She let her hand slide down his arm and then turned her attention more fully on dinner preparations.

It was going to be a process. They were all going to have to try a little harder to get along in this new situation. She and Rusty would find their way, and soon enough she would find out just what had brought about his improved opinion on the matter. The timing was a little too coincidental, and she wondered if Patrice had something to do with that too. Either way, she was grateful. She would not take any of it for granted again, however. She had Andy, and she had Rusty, along with her other children. They were all incredibly important to her. She would blend those parts of her life together, but she would no longer just wait for it to happen as it should.

She would never choose Andy over her children, just as she knew that he would never choose her before Nicole and Charlie. What she would do, and was more than prepared to do, was tell her children to grow up and accept that he was part of her life. She had never allowed them to dictate her relationships before, and would not begin to do so now. While she could respect their opinions, they would respect hers.

Sharon thought about that as she kissed Andy goodbye at the door later that evening. Respect was a two way street. While it needed to be earned, rather than freely given, Rusty was making a good faith effort. Sharon could meet him halfway. That was why she had sent Andy home with a kiss and a promise to join him shortly. She needed to pack another overnight bag anyway.

Rusty had tried during dinner to act as though nothing had changed and it was any other dinner that Andy was joining them for. That hadn't stopped the evening from being awkward. Her son was not the only one that struggled through the meal to act like things were as they had been before. Andy was trying too, but Rusty's mistrust had damaged that relationship, and at the core of it she knew that there were hurt feelings.

He never expected to become especially close to Rusty. That was Provenza's thing. Sharon understood, however, that he thought they had an otherwise decent relationship. Andy had spoken to Rusty at length about addiction and recovery. Her son had gone to him and he was more than happy to help, anyway that he could. Andy made no secret of his past, and was never reluctant to talk about his journey through recovery, but he had told that boy things that even his own children had never bothered to ask. He was bothered, deeply, that Rusty would compare him to one of Sharon Beck's abusive, addict boyfriends. At the same time, he had understood Rusty's issues, and so he had tried to look beyond it; just as he was trying now. That relationship would have to be rebuilt, but she believed that they could do it. She would not involve herself. What was damaged was between them. Her fault was in allowing it to go on as long as it had. That was something that she and Andy would work on together.

Sharon sent him ahead of her because she wanted to spend time with him, but while Rusty was still uncomfortable with the idea of _them_ , she would respect his boundaries by joining Andy instead. As she had previously decided, she could meet her son halfway. On the other hand, Sharon wasn't entirely comfortable with having Andy spend the night while her son was home. That was something that they would work on too, but for now, she felt far more comfortable exploring that side of their relationship in another location than the one where her son was residing.

She took her time, after Andy left, repacking her overnight bag. She knew now how the evening, and quite possibly the morning, would go. She could take more care with the process. Afterward she carried her things to living room and left the bag by the front door. She did a quick tour through the condo to make certain that there was nothing that required her attention and then she walked back down the hall to Rusty's room.

His door stood partially open, something he did when he had his earphones in, just in case he didn't hear her knock. Sharon tapped on the door as she pushed it open and smiled at the sight of him sitting on his bed, a computer and a few books spread out in front of him. She waited until he pulled the earphones out before stepping more fully into the room. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Um. Sure." Rusty placed his computer aside and turned his body toward her. This was a discussion that he had known would come eventually. "What's going on?" He didn't know how else to start, even if he did have a pretty good idea what she wanted to talk about.

She smiled warmly at him. When he fidgeted where he sat, the smile softened considerably. "Rusty, I understand that adult relationships can be very confusing. I know that you're trying," she added. "I feel like I haven't made one thing very clear to you, and that was my mistake in all of this." She held up a hand when it seemed like he might protest. "No, wait. This relationship with Andy is very important to me, but nothing is more important to me than you and your brother and sister. While there may be moments, like tonight, when I am going to put that relationship first, I will never choose it over you. Can you understand that?"

Rusty looked down. He picked at the hem of his pants leg. "I think I do." He looked up at her and shrugged. "I think I always did. It just… I didn't know _how_ to feel about it all. You never dated before. She always did, and it wasn't so great. I know that you're not her," he added quickly. "I've always known that. But every time she got serious about a guy, which was _a lot_ , everything changed. It got really bad. Then she left." Rusty sighed. "I know you're not going to do that, Sharon. I _know_ , but…"

She watched him gesture helplessly. His instinct had been to protect himself, based on the only experience that he ever had with a mother dating. She walked over to the bed and sat down beside him. "Rusty," she spoke gently, "this is all new to me too. I haven't been this involved with someone in a very long time. I didn't date while Emily and Ricky were living at home." That was not to say that she had lived a completely solitary life, but they didn't need to get in to that. "I am going to make mistakes too, but I will always be here for you."

"I know." Rusty gazed back at her. When her brows lifted he smiled crookedly. She wanted him to say it again. Rusty shook his head, even while he grinned. "I know," he repeated. "I really am sorry, Sharon. I didn't want you to get hurt. I guess it never really occurred to me that you two were that serious already."

"Every relationship is serious, Rusty. There are just different levels." She reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "I think that everything is going to work out. It's all just going to take some time, and some effort," she warned. He couldn't expect things to be fixed by themselves.

"I'm going to work on it," he promised her. Rusty watched her stand again and followed her with his gaze. "So, you two, you're really like, completely back together now?"

"We are." Sharon remained by the bed. "Very much back together," she explained, "and I hope to keep it that way. I don't know what will happen, but…" She offered a delicate shrug and a smile, "Andy is incredibly important to me, Rusty."

He looked down again and this time he chewed on his bottom lip. He remembered what Patrice had said. "You love him?" He asked carefully, and a bit timidly.

"Yes," she said softly. "I do. There is room in my heart for all of you, Rusty. Someday you will understand that." She watched as he worked on that one. There would come a day when he would be able to accept it more easily. "I won't be home tonight," she continued, "is there anything that you need before I go?"

He was surprised by that. Rusty blinked at her. "Um. No. Are you…" He didn't want to know, he truly didn't. Rusty's brows drew together in a frown. He pushed through his discomfort. "Will you be with Andy?"

"Yes." Her smile brightened. "But if you need me, you can call me. I will always answer. Okay?"

He was actually a little relieved that whatever they were going to be doing, they wouldn't be doing it there. The thought was still very uncomfortable though, not because of who she was with… but because he didn't want to think of her doing those things, _ever_. "Okay." He shrugged. "I'm just going to work on all of this for a while and then I'm going to bed. I guess I will see you tomorrow."

"You will." She turned toward the door. "I will be home in the evening," for how long she wouldn't be able to say. For now she was just going to take it one day at a time.

She was trying to make sure that he understood they would still see each other, Rusty realized. He smiled. "I'll make sure I'm here then." He picked at the hem of his jeans again. "Sharon, do you think he'll forgive me?"

At the door she turned. She leaned against the frame while she considered her son. That seemed to be something that he wanted. "In time," she told him. "That's between the two of you. I'm not getting involved, Rusty. Andy is upset with you, but it won't last forever. It's…" Her lips pursed, and then she offered him a grin. "It's just like when Ricky had to mend his relationship with you last summer. It will happen. We make mistakes, Rusty. Then we learn from them. That's how life works."

"I hope you're right." He rolled his eyes at her. She usually was. "Good night, Sharon."

"Good night, Rusty." She paused for just a moment longer before stepping out of the room. "I love you."

"I know." He met her gaze again. "Me too."

Sharon smiled brightly at him and pulled his door closed as she left. She stood outside his room for just a moment and let her mind catalogue every moment of their conversation. Finally she nodded. She did not expect it to be easy or there to be no further bumps in the road along the way… but at least they were all finally moving in the same direction.

She was still smiling as she walked into the outer room and gathered her things. As she left the condo, a smirk curved her lips upward. Of one thing she was absolutely certain. If the words _Worst Case Scenario_ ever left Andy Flynn's lips again, she would remind him of _why_ he was so fond of keeping an old beanbag souvenir in his desk drawer.

 _ **~FIN**_


End file.
